


To Tie Knots in Cherry Stems

by sophh



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bar/Pub, F/M, First Meetings, blackinnon, dares involving cherries, vaguely suggestive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:27:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28103910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophh/pseuds/sophh
Summary: A seemingly run-of-the-mill meeting leads to a dare.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Marlene McKinnon
Comments: 33
Kudos: 20
Collections: Judged by the Cover





	To Tie Knots in Cherry Stems

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [ravenslight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravenslight/pseuds/ravenslight) in the [judgedbythecover](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/judgedbythecover) collection. 



> My attempts to write Blackinnon for Gen (owlways_and_forever).

Sirius sauntered up to the dark-haired girl sitting at the bar and flashed her a bright smile. "Hello, love. The name's Sirius."

She twisted around to give him a withering look, which only increased the wattage of Sirius' beam. He loved to rile up a pretty bird or two whenever he hit the pub—it made things more fun. 

Now that the girl was properly facing him, he could see that the black shirt she wore beneath her leather jacket was see-through, exposing a black bra beneath. He was in the middle of congratulating himself on his taste in women when she gave her reply. 

"Go away," she huffed, tossing her hair over her shoulder and turning back to her companion, a red-haired girl with green eyes and a downcast expression. "I'm not interested." 

"You haven't even heard my pitch yet," he pouted. His usual move would be to buy her a drink, but he wouldn't put it past her to throw it on him instead of drinking it. Already, he could sense that there was a fire in her, and it couldn't be doused with pretty words or flirty grins. 

"Yeah, well, my friend Lily here—" She indicated the redhead, "—is dealing with a shitty friend situation, so get lost."

 _"I_ could be your friend." Sirius directed his smile towards Lily and did his best to sound sincere. "A _good_ friend." 

Lily rolled her eyes. "Somehow, I think you and I have pretty different ideas of what constitutes friendship. Come on, Marlene, let's go. The pub atmosphere isn't exactly cheering me up anyway." 

The dark-haired girl—Marlene, apparently—eyed the bowl of cherries sitting on the counter an arm's reach away. "Hang on. I want to nick a couple of cherries for the road."

Sirius glanced over at the cherries too. They were probably meant for the bartenders to use as garnishes, but they appeared to be untouched. Suddenly, a wicked thought crossed his mind. 

"Can you knot a cherry stem with your tongue?" he asked, nodding at the bowl. 

Marlene blinked at him, clearly confused by the change of topic. "Sorry?"

"You know, you put the cherry stem in your mouth and see if you can knot it? I hear that if you can, it means you're, well, _good with your tongue."_ Sirius waggled his eyebrows at her, delighting in the way her expression went from confused to disgusted. 

"Gross." She looked over at Lily and shook her head. "You're right, Lils, this girl's night blows." 

Lily slid off her barstool and waited for Marlene to do the same. Sirius saw that he was losing his audience, and scrambled to think of a way to make them stay. 

"Wait," he said, holding up a hand. To his surprise, the two girls looked at him expectantly. Less surprising was the ill-concealed disdain they also sent his way. He could practically feel it rolling off of them in waves. "Marlene, I dare you to try and knot the stem of one of those cherries with your tongue." 

"Why would I respond to a dare given to me by a drunken stranger?" Marlene retorted. Sirius was affronted by her description of him—surely she could come up with another adjective besides _drunken._ "What have I got to lose by turning it down?"

Sirius shrugged. "Oh, I don't know...maybe your pride?"

Lily giggled at that. 

"He's got you figured out, Marls," she said, nudging the brunette. 

Marlene glared at her friend. "You're wrong. I don't need to prove anything to him. Let's just get out of here."

Sirius chuckled. Marlene wasn't going to leave without accepting his dare. He just knew it. 

Sure enough, Marlene took one step towards the door before turning back to him with a pained look.

"Fine," she said through gritted teeth. "I accept your challenge."

Lily plunked herself down on the stool she had just vacated, giving her friend a knowing smirk. "Just couldn't help yourself, could you?"

"No," Marlene admitted. 

"It's okay." Lily patted her shoulder. "This is the most exciting thing that's happened to us all night." 

Marlene tapped her nails on the bar, seemingly deep in thought. "I want to spice things up a little. Sirius, we'll race each other and see who can tie theirs fastest—if they can tie it at all. The loser buys a round of drinks." 

Sirius wasn't one to turn down free alcohol. He had practiced tying knots in cherry stems enough times to know that not only could he do it, but he was pretty fast at it, too. 

Marlene plucked a cherry from the bowl and ripped the stem off. Sirius did the same, then waited for the signal to start. 

Lily clapped her hands together and cried, "Go!"

As Sirius had suspected, he was much more dexterous with his tongue—or at least, he could tie a knot in a cherry stem much more quickly than Marlene could. He spat the stem into his hand and held it up for Marlene and Lily to see. 

"Done," he crowed.

Marlene spat out her own stem before gaping at him. "No way." She sighed. "Looks like I'm buying." After a moment, she begrudgingly added, "And, er, nice job." 

"Always happy to demonstrate my _superior_ tongue skills," Sirius said smugly. 

Marlene grabbed the discarded part of her cherry and threw it at him. She didn't seem quite so annoyed with him now—her disdain had morphed into something akin to respect. "I'm sure you are. Now, tell me, what're you drinking?" 


End file.
